FIRST LOOK: 

Join WRI’s Global Forest Watch team for an embargoed press call on Tuesday, April 19 at 9:00 a.m. ET, where global experts will provide a preview of the 2021 tree cover loss data. 

Biden To Raise Drilling Royalties, Issue New Leases: The Biden administration will open roughly 144,000 acres for leases for oil and gas drilling on public lands and waters, with royalty rates increased for the first time since the 1920s, DOI said Friday. Oil and gas drillers will now need to pay 18.75% royalties, a 50% increase from the 12.5% rate established when the federal government first imposed them about a century ago. Biden paused oil and gas drilling during his first week in office but a court order, and concern over high gasoline prices, are compelling the administration to offer leases. The most recent UN IPCC report concluded that even existing fossil fuel infrastructure puts the Paris Agreement goal of limiting warming to 1.5°C (2.7°F) out of reach, and building additional carbon-intensive infrastructure only further seals our fate. “It’s important that they’re raising royalty rates,” Abigail Dillen, president of Earthjustice, told the Washington Post. “But ultimately, oil and gas leasing at any significant scale is incompatible with the Paris agreement.” (Washington Post $, Bloomberg $, E&E News, The Guardian, New York Times $, Wall Street Journal $, CNN, ABC, S&P Global, The Hill, Fox News, NBC, Mother Jones, Washington Examiner, Politico Pro $, FT $, Reuters, New York Post, Today Show)

New Study Traces Climate Denial And Disinformation To Industry Efforts To Advocate For Inaction: Through the 1990s, the Global Climate Coalition successfully fended off international climate policy and laid the foundation for climate disinformation new research published in Environmental Politics shows. The GCC spent millions of dollars on PR campaigns to deny the scientific consensus while playing up uncertainty, fear mongering about the economic cost of action while scapegoating China, and capturing the Republican party to delay climate regulations. The study by Brown University researcher Robert Brulle documents the public relations strategy GCC deployed to successfully spike US involvement in the Kyoto Protocol, which the industry has continued to use in the decades since. “It was very much, play up the economic impact, play up the threat to the ‘American way of life,’” Brulle told the Intercept, “When you can attack the science, do that, but always, always play up the economics.” The study is more than simply a historical document, Brulle pointed out to Katie Yoder at Grist, as it shows that climate denial “has been a long-term, corporate objective” that “resulted in the fact that we didn’t deal with climate change,” which is why “they should be held liable for the damages.” (Intercept, Grist, Galileu [Portuguese])  

Lake Charles Still Recovering From 2020 Hurricanes: With the 2022 hurricane season looming, Lake Charles, Louisiana, residents are still working to recover and rebuild from Hurricanes Laura and Delta. The storms pummeled the region in the late summer and fall of 2020, destroying homes and setting off vicious cycles of housing injustice, unmeasured exposure to potentially toxic chemicals, and increased vulnerability to further flooding. The application period for the Lake Charles Housing Rehabilitation and Recovery Program opened last week and Lake Charles mayor Nic Hunter said, “We have no doubt in our mind that the $11.3 million we have dedicated will be gone quickly after the registration period.” The funds are expected to assist 150 homeowners, and carry specific guidelines, offering a maximum of $60,000 per structure for elderly- or single parent-owned or low-income single-family houses (not mobile homes or duplexes) that are not located in a flood zone. Those still in need of assistance can still register for it, assuming they have internet access. (American Press, AP; Climate Signals background: 2020 Atlantic hurricane season)

(ENVIRONMENTAL) RACISM: Can the US go green without destroying sacred native lands? (Mother Jones), In Houston, one neighborhood’s trial – and retrial – by water (Yale Climate Connections), In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the unintended consequences of ‘fortress conservation’ (Inside Climate News), Black, Latino communities have a higher level of oil drilling and pollution (Washington Post $)

HOUSING (IN)JUSTICE: Toxic shower water. Sewage pits. ‘Infuriating’ woes in east Coachella Valley mobile parks (Desert Sun), How to fight the affordable housing and climate crises at once (Vox)

FOSSIL FUELED WAR: Ukrainian climate scientist says Russia's invasion is a 'fossil fuel war' (NPR), Germans unwavering against calls to cut Russian fuel imports immediately (Washington Examiner), War in Ukraine generates interest in nuclear energy, despite danger (Washington Post $), With its Russian coal ban, the EU blocks a fuel it wasn’t using much (Energy Monitor)

HBCUs: HBCU students, faculty press urgent need for climate action (AP)

PROTESTS: Six arrested after climate activists scale oil tanker in central London (The Guardian, AP), Forty XR activists arrested in various anti-fossil fuel protests across London (The Guardian, BBC), Climate change activists block central Paris square (Reuters), Two people climb [London's] Marble Arch amid protests against fossil fuels (The Independent), Oil firms secure injunctions to stop UK climate protests (Reuters), Labour split by leadership call for action against climate crisis blockades (The Guardian)

• SCIENTISTS: 'It’s not political to tell the truth': scientists arrested over climate protests (Gizmodo), Climate scientist on hunger strike ‘after being refused bail’ (The Independent), Over 1,000 scientists from around the world take to the streets in week-long climate protests (The Hill), ‘It’s critical the message makes it to the mainstream’: NASA climate scientist speaks on his tearful protest (The Independent)

IPCC: Key UN finding widely misinterpreted (BBC)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: Game theory says the Paris Agreement looks like a winner for the climate (Quartz)

CLIMATE LITIGATION: Suing over climate change: Taking fossil fuel companies to court (CBS)

• PERSONHOOD: This Canadian river is now legally a person. It’s not the only one. (National Geographic)

PUT THE FUN BETWEEN YOUR LEGS: The hottest electric vehicles at New York’s auto show have two wheels (Canary Media)

COMPOUNDING IMPACTS: South Africa braces for more flooding as rains restart in east (Reuters)

MEDIA: The climate change story that generated way more reader mail than Will Smith’s Oscars slap (LA Times $)

FRENCH ELECTIONS: Macron vows to end fossil fuels use in pitch to green voters (Bloomberg $), Eyeing green vote, Macron vows to exit oil, coal and gas (Reuters), Macron courts Marseille voters; climate activists in Paris (AP)

AGENCIES: 'Sense of urgency' for HHS climate change office (Politico)

EPA: The pandemic drove a sharp dip in greenhouse gas emissions, EPA says (The Hill)

WHITE HOUSE: A look inside Biden’s climate agenda (ABC), Biden climate adviser [Gina McCarthy] pushes back on departure rumors (The Hill)

ELECTIONS: ‘A slap in the face’: House Dems’ super PAC sparks Latino backlash (Politico), Trump-era EPA chief Scott Pruitt files to run for Senate in Oklahoma (The Hill)

NOMINEES & CONFIRMATIONS: Biden taps Fed regulator after climate views sank first pick (E&E $)

CITIES AND STATES AND DISENFRANCHISED COLONIAL TERRITORIES: Green infrastructure helps cities with climate change. So why isn't there more of it? (NPR), Big fight brewing over California ballot measure to reduce single-use plastics (LA Times $), Environmental activists urge Louisiana residents to push for federal clean-energy funds (NOLA.com), Gas hikes prompt New York to investigate potential price gouging by oil companies (Gizmodo), In Pennsylvania, Ukraine invasion and urgent climate report drive new interest in renewables, efficiency (WHYY), State board adopts rules regulating emissions from oil, natural gas relating to ozone (New Mexico Political Report, E&E $), New York green lights massive renewable energy projects to cut fossil fuel reliance (The Hill), North Carolina’s bet on biomass energy is faltering, with energy targets unmet and concerns about environmental justice (Inside Climate News), Oklahoma governor touts importance of electric vehicle partnership (Washington Examiner), Oil industry exec calls for revoking Florida's offshore drilling bans (Politico Pro $), Puerto Rico firefighters call for end to LUMA contract (Latino Rebels), [New Hampshire] Senate passes big climate bill focused on getting to net-zero (WBUR), Trying to electrify your home, add solar panels or buy an e-bike? Denver wants to help pay for it. (Denverite)

IMPACTS: Climate toll on Arctic bases: Sunken runways, damaged roads (AP, Newsweek), Scientists say this new satellite is a game changer for tracking how our environment is changing (CNN), Study: Atmospheric rivers may cause next Antarctic ice shelf collapse (Axios, Phys.org), Iraq’s ancient buildings are being destroyed by climate change (The Guardian), Lower growth expected in Latin America due to climate change (Prensa Latina), March 2022: Earth’s 5th-warmest March on record (Yale Climate Connections), Top 10 areas of Britain most at risk of flooding due to climate crisis revealed (The Independent), Why is Texas facing so many extreme weather events? (NPR)

DROUGHT: As drought hammers Mono Lake, thirsty Los Angeles must look elsewhere for water (LA Times $), Western US scrambles to secure water supplies as it faces historic drought (Washington Examiner)

WILDFIRES: Crews fight New Mexico fires as some evacuations lift (AP)

HURRICANES: 'Go big or go home': Houston wants New Orleans-level hurricane protection, but will it be too little, too late? (NOLA.com), Hurricane Ida recovery efforts prompt preparations for future Pennsylvania floods (Philadelphia Inquirer), Studies find climate change is driving ‘decisive increase’ in violent hurricanes (Grist)

BOOZE: 'We're making wine in Norway' (BBC)

FISHING: Climate change could significantly impact commercial fishing, Rutgers study says (WHYY)

RENEWABLES: Probe threatens Southeast Asia’s role as US’s top solar supplier (Wall Street Journal $), A look at the cost of solar energy access and who benefits from it (CBS), Solar solutions to curb effects of climate change (ABC), Bristol community secures funding to build tallest wind turbine in England (The Guardian), Hamptons opponents hound offshore wind-power project (Wall Street Journal $)

OIL & GAS: Natural-gas prices rise, defying seasonal trends (Wall Street Journal $)

PLASTICS: Rich countries are illegally exporting plastic trash to poor countries, data suggests (Grist), Microplastics and pollution combine to become much more toxic: Study (Environmental Health News)

COAL: Tough to find alternatives for Russian thermal coal, says Japan utilities group head (Reuters)

UTILITIES: Utilities plan huge electric grid upgrades, adding to power bills (Wall Street Journal $)

EVs: Genesis drops another stunning concept EV at the New York auto show (Newsweek), How boats are catching up to cars in the race to reduce emissions (Today Show), The rise of brand-new secondhand EVs (Wired), [Chris's cousin] Jim Farley tries to reinvent Ford and catch up to Elon Musk and Tesla (New York Times $)

FOOD: Nutrition labels help us make better food choices. climate labels could do the same for sustainability (TIME)

CRYPTO: Carbon-linked crypto tokens alarm climate experts (FT $), The next hurdle in Europe’s energy transition: being more enticing than NFTs (New York Times $)

CLIMATE COMMUNICATION: To fight climate despair, this Christian ecologist says science isn’t enough (Washington Post $)

ACTIVISM: A beginners’ guide to planting trees – and fighting the climate crisis (The Guardian), Maine network mentors activists working on clean energy transition (Energy News Network)

AVIATION: The battery that flies (New York Times $)

AGRICULTURE: Climate change impacts farmers and global supply chains. Maine’s growing grain economy could help (Maine Public Radio), In the face of a climate crises, there's a better way to farm (TIME)

BOOKS: "The Rule of Five," on arguing climate change before the Supreme Court (CBS)

BUSINESS: Business leaders know the climate status quo is untenable (Bloomberg $)

CARBON REMOVAL: CO2 removal is having a moment and not everyone's happy (Axios)

FINANCE: Global Citizen seeks up to $1 billion for six sustainable 'Impact' funds (Reuters)

WILDLIFE: Inside an italian police chase to stop the theft of ugly sea creatures (Bloomberg $), Abundance, exploitation, recovery: a portrait of South Georgia (New York Times $)

INTERNATIONAL: Mexico congress debates president’s electricity reform (Bloomberg $), Mexico’s electricity reform draws opposition from investors, US (Washington Post $)

• Pakistan’s political crisis has been an energy crisis, too (Bloomberg, David Fickling op-ed $)
• How a Texas sociologist became the father of the environmental justice movement (Dallas Morning News, Michael Merschel op-ed)
• Methane emissions harm already vulnerable communities the most (Latino Rebels, Melissa Ramos op-ed)
• When clean energy accelerates, thank Europe (New York Times, Philip Verleger and David Victor op-ed $)
• Democrats can avoid disaster in November (New York Times, Sen. Elizabeth Warren op-ed $)
• Building parks for all people: Embracing the Olmsted Spirit (The Hill, Anne D. Neal Petri op-ed)
• Crypto could raise Texas electricity prices if not planned well (Houston Chronicle, Chris Tomlinson column)
• Electric cars are in ads, but are there many on dealer lots? (LA Times, Paul Thornton op-ed $)
• Maryland opts for business as usual, not helping fight climate change (Washington Post, Tom Croghan op-ed $)
• Here’s a better way to care for your yard. Your neighbors, and the planet, will thank you. (New York Times, Jessica Stolzberg op-ed $)
• Joshua trees, threatened by climate change, deserve California’s protection (LA Times, Editorial Board $)
• Consistent, comparable disclosure sits at the heart of our global financial system (The Hill, Greg Hershman op-ed)
• Wetland conservation is worth the cost (The Hill, Hannah Druckenmiller op-ed)
• Think globally and act locally for upcoming Earth Day (The Hill, Dominick A. DellaSala, William Ripple, and Franz Baumann op-ed)
• EPA must ban routine flaring to protect communities (The Hill, Lisa DeVille op-ed)
• Raising cattle on native grasses benefits farmers, wildlife and the soil (Modern Farmer, Patrick Keyser op-ed)
• An oil leasing fig leaf (Wall Street Journal, Editorial Board $)
• The coming green-energy inflation (Wall Street Journal, Mark P. Mills op-ed $)

Fossil Fools Still Blame High Gas Prices On Biden’s Bad Vibes, Ignoring Industry Profits 

The quantity of climate disinformation alleging that Biden or Greta are somehow responsible for Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and the global pandemic’s effects on fossil fuel prices has slowed in recent weeks. Most of the non-climate-specific rightwing disinfo sphere has moved on to other issues, but the industry-funded folks are still pushing the point that merely THINKING about climate policy is causing high prices. The industry is just too intimidated by climate activists to produce more and bring down prices! 

Take last Thursday’s piece by Tristan Justice in The Federalist, where even the headline is forced to acknowledge that everyone knows this is a stupid argument: Biden’s Decision To Stop The Keystone Pipeline Absolutely Hiked Gas Prices. 

Tristan is the “western correspondent” for the billionaire-backed Federalist, his bio indicates he’s written for the rightwing Washington Examiner, Koch-funded Real Clear and industry-backed Heritage blog Daily Signal, and his story relies on quotes from Tom Pyle of the industry lobby American Energy Alliance, Kathleen Sgamma, of the industry lobby Western Energy Alliance, Larry Behrens of the industry lobby Power the Future, and a video from Kite and Key Media. 

They take turns blaming Biden’s intentions and vibes and virtue-signaling against fossil fuels as determinants of industry’s profit-grabbing agenda, and the only new thing about any of this was the Kite and Key Media video. 

Intrigued by its YouTube channel description (over 2 million views) stating simply that “the world is complicated…but the explanations don’t have to be. New videos every Wednesday,” we poked around Kite and Key’s sleek-looking website. We were impressed with their “Statement of Integrity” claiming it’s “a research and evidence-driven organization” but also acknowledges that “our editorial views are inevitably shaped by our experiences and convictions” and “encourage you to apply your own values, priorities, and beliefs to the material– and to use the citations we’ve provided to go back and examine the original sources upon which we depend.” 

Okay, we’re game! Looking at their sources for a video on why renewables are inherently bad, we find in the citations so-called experts like Big Oil’s million dollar baby Willie Soon, and Mark Mills of the dirty-energy-funded Manhattan Institute. Not exactly bastions of integrity! 

While they go to some measure to hide their hard right political leaning in promotional materials, Kite and Key media’s co-founders Vanessa Mendoza and Troy Senik are, among other rightwing accolades like George W Bush speechwriter, both former Vice Presidents at the Manhattan Insitute. 

Oddly, they don’t mention writing speeches for the post-truth administration known for scoffing at the “reality-based community” or working for a group that pumps out hate and industrial disinformation in their statement on integrity, which certainly speaks to their lack thereof. 

So, yes, if you ask the people paid by the fossil fuel industry to advance the interests of the fossil fuel industry what they think about the fossil fuel industry, you will hear them tell you things that would advance the fossil fuel industry’s interests. 

Fortunately, though, it no longer seems like people who aren’t paid to carry industry propaganda are making fools of themselves with these arguments. 

Unfortunately, that still leaves plenty of people making these arguments, and plenty of rightwing disinfo outlets happy to publish them. 

Tristan Justice, trained in rightwing disinfo outlets, wrote a story about it in a rightwing disinfo outlet, based on quotes and a video by rightwing fossil fueled disinfo peddlers. 

It’s a disinformation loop pushing the lie that Biden’s environmentalism is causing high gas prices, and the only good news is that it’s a closed loop.

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